Wire saw apparatus



Dec. 4, 1951 H. E. STRATTON WIRE SAW APPARATUS 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 2, 1949 Dec. 4, 1951 H. E. STRATTON 2,577,545

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- WIRE SAW APPARATUS Filed April 2, 1949 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Dec. 4, 1951 STRATTON 2,577,545

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WIRE SAW APPARATUS Filed April 2, 1949 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Fig; 11.

, 7 any Patented Dec. 4, 1951 WIRE sAw APPARATUS Harry E. Stratton, Chelmsford, Mass., assignor to H. E. Fletcher Company, West Chelmsford, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application April 2, 1949 ,'Serial No. 85,173

3 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved wire saw apparatus of the type employed in quarrying operations in which an endless wire saw member is utilized to drag a finely divided abrasive material into sliding contact with a rock surface to be sawn. A preferred embodiment of the invention is exemplified by an apparatus which includes means for furnishing and handling a plurality of wire saw elements arranged in close proximity to one another and operating simultaneously to provide a series of kerfs in a bench or block of stone. Although the invention is described herein as applied to a quarry operation, it is also applicable in a stone processing plant where the stone is brought from the quarry for further finishing as well as in various other operations.

It is in general an object of the invention to improve wire sawing methods and equipment and to devise more efiicient and cheaper sawing operations which will increase quarry output, reduce the time and labor involved and prevent waste of stone. Another object is to provide improved means for furnishing a driven wire whose length and tension characteristics are automatically varied in accordance with the demands of sawing sheaves.

It is a further object of the invention to deal with the problems encountered in leading ofi and guiding wire saw elements from a wire furnishing tower or column to varying locations where a sawing operation is desired to be carried out. With conventional forms of sheave members such as used in wire saw apparatus, there is a lack of flexibility in readily leading off the wire in varying directions. Trouble may also develop from the wires being drawn off at an untrue angle or from the wires falling away from one or more of the sheave membersfor example at such times as there occurs a drop in tension, or an interrup-.

' that the wire will at all times leave the sheave members in a true manner. The sheaves further cooperate with one another & support the W 2 so that there 'is little opportunity for the wire members to fall away from the sheave members if a change in tension occurs.

These and other objects and novel features will be more fully understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, chosen for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation illustrating disgrammatically a section of a quarry and the wire sawing apparatus of the invention located in one typical operating position;

Fig. 2 is a plan view further illustrating parts of the wire sawing apparatus in an operating position and indicating diagrammatically the 7 method of reeving the wire saw element;

. sawing sheaves Fig. 2a illustrates another reeving diagram for a wire saw;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view more fully disclosing the multiple sheavemechanism of the invention;

' 'Fig. 3a is adetail plan view of a gang of sawing sheaves mounted in an operating position ina section of granite to be sawn;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan View further illustrating the sheave mechanism indicated in Fig. 3;

Fig; 5 is a detail plan view of bracket means for supporting a sheavemember;

Fig. 6 is a detail-elevationalview of the bracket member shown in Fig.- 5;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary elevational view of a wire supporting tower in which ismounted the sheave mechanism illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4;

Fig. 8 is a side elevational view of a sheave arrangement for leading a downwardly moving wire away along a new path in an upward direction;

Fig. 9 is an elevational view-illustrating'diagrammatically driving'and tensioning means arranged to operate a. wire member and including shown mounted in core drill holes;

Figs. 10-13' inclusive illustrate modifications of the tensioning and sawing apparatus; and

quarry may include a considerable area and extend into the earth for a depth of from one to several hundred feet. Whether the equipment 3 is utilized entirely within the quarry or lead in from a point outside the quarry, there is necessarily involved an apparatus of considerable magnitude and especially so with respect to the sawing wire, which is required to have a substantial reach.

Then too in actual practice, sawing of the relatively harder stones such as granite may result in greatly increased wear of the wire saw element. To reduce such wear, as well as furnish adequate range therefor, it is helpful to utilize greatly increased lengths of saw wire. stance of suitable saw dimensions applied successfully in one open pit quarrying operation, there may be employed saw lengths running from 10,000 feet or less all the way up to 20,000 feet or more. A gang of these saws in the lengths indicated, and including as many as six or more, may be operated simultaneously, running in parallel spaced-apart relation to one another. It will be understood that extensive wire supporting towers and sheaves are desirable in receiving as Well as. furnishing and guiding these relatively great lengths of wire to varying points of sawing in response to demand of the sawing sheaves. In the specific apparatus referred to, a series of these towers are arranged in line with one another in a direction extending away from the quarry for a distance of. approximately 1500 feet. with the towers in each instance having a height of 'from'50 to 100 feet and a width 01! roughly 40. to 60 feet. Each tower is provided with multiple: sheave means along which the series. of wire saws maybe driven under a tension of about 300 lbs. at speeds of from 3,000 to 4,000 feet per minute for example.

Thus the sawing apparatus illustrated in Figs.

1' and 2 in general may be considered as being made up of three parts comprising the endless wire elements, a number of sets of sawing sheaves for urging the wires into sliding contact with a granite or other rock surface and wire furnishing means for delivering wires in suitable lengths in response to demand of respective sets of sawing sheaves. The wire furnishing means may include the wire supporting and guiding towers; power means for driving the wire'preferably located outside the quarry in close proximity to one of the towers; mechanism associated with the power means for varying the lengths of u "has been suggested in Fig. 2. A second reeving arrangement for a greater length of wire is shown in Fig. 20:. As noted in these. figures, saw member I is shown supported in a raised position by means of the wire furnishing means including for example the three wire supporting structures or towers l2, l4 and [5 which may in each instance consist of a metal framework bolted together and mounted at. spaced-apart intervals near the edge of the quarry asnoted in Fig; 1. As noted by arrows, the wire member [0 passes over guide sheaves [6a. of tower [6, guide sheaves [4a. of tower I4 and two sets of orienting sheaves in tower [2. As shown'diagrammatically in Fig. 1,. the two sets lie one above another of which a lower set of sheaves 28, 30 and 32 re- Thus as an inr set of sheaves 28a, 30a and 32a carrying outgoing portions of wire l0.

Preferably the three towers [2, I4 and I6 are arranged in substantial alinement with one another so that the wire I0 is guided along planes which deviate only slightly from the planes of rotation of the sheaves and the wire is thereby lead away from the sheaves in true directions. The wire I0 is driven by a power unit [8 preferably mounted outside the quarry pit between tower l2 and tower l4, and beside this unit is located a. mechanism 20 for varying the length of wire in operation at any given time in response to the demand of the sawing sheave mechanism 22 indicated at the lower left-hand side of Fig. 1. Included in the mechanism 22 is a set of four sheaves 22a,.22b, 22c and 22d. Sheaves 22c and 2201 are vertically adjustable by means of a hoist mechanism shown at another point in the drawings and referred to hereinafter in the specification. Sheaves 22a and 22b are preferably mounted in fixed sawing towers which are in turn supported in core drill holes 23 and 25 formed in a body of rock 21 as suggested in Fig. 3a. In the latter figure there are also shown with sawing sheaves 22a and 22b, uppermost sheaves of respective sets of sheaves for additional wire members lOa, I01), 10c, 10d and We.

The sheaves of tower .l2 together with portions of the superstructure of this tower have been illustrated in greater detail in Figs. 3-7 inclusive. Fig. 4 shows saws I0 and [00. which a number of other saws such as 10c, 10d and [0e are indicated in Figs. 3a, 12 and 13. Each of these saws is provided with sheave mechanisms shown in Figs. 3 and 4 and such an arrangement provides for a multiple wire sawing operation and constitutes a preferred mode of applying the apparatus of the invention.

Considering in greater detail the structures illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the outgoing portions 'of the endless wire I0 are guided and directed by the upper set of orienting sheaves 28a, 30a and 32a, of which sheave 28a is mounted for rotation in a vertical plane and suspended from a pair of downwardly extending arms 34 in turn supported by horizontal rail members 36 of the tower I2. The arms 34 may for example support the sheave 28a by means of annular bearings 38 through which extends a shaft 40. The arrangement of sheave 28a in tower 12 may be more clearly seen from an inspection of Figs. 4 and '7 in which additional details of the tower structure are disclosed. It is contemplated that the arms 34 may be slidably adjusted along the rails 36 to any desired point and at the same time the arms may be rotated about a vertical axis and swung into varying positions of angularity with respect to the rails 36.

Located below and. in front of the sheave 28a is the second sheave member 30a; which is mounted for rotation in a horizontal plane at the top of a vertical post 42, in turn pivotally mounted on a rail 44 and braced by transverse bars 46.

The bar is fast to a member 41 and at its outer end is provided with a sleeve 48 through which the post extends. A similar sleeve 50 is located on rail 44 and encircles the bottom of the post 42 and includes a set screw 52 by means of which the post may be fixed in any desired position into which the post is turned in the sleeves 48 and 5,0.

Located below and in front of the sheave 30a is the third sheave member 32a mounted for rotation in a vertical plane and secured between two ceive incoming portions of wire lo. and. an uppernop sht membe s 54 po e t t e nd of a 'from any one of the sheaves. v of the sheaves from this point of view, it will be seen that they are located fairly close to one another and wire 10 led from a' point above groove of sheave 30a.

bracket 56 which is fixed to the post 42 and swung with this member about a vertical axis passing through the center of the sheave 30a.

The upright members 54 are further'provided with means for orienting sheave member 32a about a vertical axis. Such means for example include a circular plate 58 on which members 54 are mounted and having adjustment screws for holding the plate in a suitable position on the bracket 56.

In assembling the set of orienting sheaves Sin ented so as to rotate in a vertical plane of rotation 'which is tangent to the periphery of sheave 30a, 1 and fixed in this position. Similarly the sheave32a may be oriented about a vertical axis by the adjustment means noted and likewise held in a vertical plane of rotation which is tangent to the periphery of the sheave 30a at another point.

It will be noted that with sheave 32a fixed in the tangential relationship described by means of plate 58, the sheave and its supporting bracket 56 4 may be swung through a considerable arc and in all positions the sheave 32a will move into vertical planes of rotation, any one of which is tangent to the periphery of sheave 30a. This arrangement makes it possible to select any desired plane of. rotation corresponding to the direction in which the sheave and wire are to be led ofi and then hold the sheave in this position by means of the set screw 52 in collar 50 acting on post 42. Likewise a very quick change may becarried out with little loss of time when the position of the sawing sheaves is changed in the quarry.

With the orienting sheaves thus arranged in series in such a way as to cause the sheaves to be in successively different planes of rotation, the wire l may be led into the tower at almost any desired angle to the rails 36 and received by the sheave 23a. The wire then is led around the periphery of the intermediate horizontal sheave 30a until it is in a position of tangency with respect to the lower sheave 3211, thus achieving a horizontal change in direction of the wire Without developing any tendency for the wire to leave either sheave 28a or sheave 30a at an untrue angle.

without the. wires leaving the sheave 32a at an untrue angle.

A second important function of the series of orienting sheaves described is a supporting of the wire Ill so that it is prevented from falling away Considering each sheaves 28a will pass down under this member and will be held by the engagement of the wire in the horizontally disposed sheave 30 even if tension in the wire is relaxed. In the caseof the horizontal sheave, the wire is preventediioin falling away with drop in tension since the weight of the wire occurring as it does below sheave 30a will tend to keep the wire in alinement with the Thereafter the wire I0 passes out of the -tower 42 over the sheave 32a and again the direction of the wire is changed in a vertical plane with little trouble.

Theshe'ave arrangement is characterized also by. desirable flexibility features which make it possible to direct one or more saws over a relatively wide range of operating area. Thus in the arrangement shown in the drawings, the sheave v32a may be swung through an arc of roughly 90 If-desired however a much v greater range may be included as an arc of 180 may be obtained by changing the position relationshipbetween sheave 28a and 30a so that the wire passes around the opposite side of sheave 30a; and also by changing the relationship between sheaves 30a and 32a by rotating sheave 32a about a vertical axis by means of adjustment of plate 58 until sheave 32a is in a vertical plane which is tangent to the opposite side of sheave 30a. It will also be understood that the wire may be so directed as to passover the sheave 28a -if led .in from a point'below the tower deck, it

only being necessary to change the position of supporting bracket for sheave 28a so that the top ofsheave Zfia'will fall in horizontal plane of sheave 30a.

2 All of the foregoing adjustment may be made with respect to the second set of. sheaves 28, 30 and 32 located on the lower deck of the tower l2 to receive the wire as it releases from the sawing sheaves Likewise it should be understood that adjustment of both upper and lower sets of orienting sheaves will be carried out for each of the respective wires Illa, lfib, lllc, [0d and We indicated as passing over the several sets of sawing sheaves shown in Fig. 3a.

These several sets of sawing sheaves are further illustrated diagrammatically in Figs. 9, 10, 12 and 13, together with a showing of a part of the supporting frame structure 49 and winches 5| arranged in position to raise and lower the bottom sheaves of each respective set. The winches 5| lower the sheaves as they progress downwardly with the cut of the saw element ill in the granite. In actual practice these cuts may be of a length of from 20 feet to 60 or 70 feet or more, and a depth of from four to five feet up to twenty-five or thirty feet or more.

--There is in this Way formed a stand of rock slabs which by well known quarrying methods are separated and carried out of the quarry for further processing. In some cases it is important in forming the slabs to operate the saws simultaneou'sly and to guide the out along substantially parallel lines. In such cases it is essential that the orienting guide sheave mechanism work in conjunction with the several sets of sawing sheaves and themultiple wires to keep them running smoothly and in proper alinement. Fig. 10 shows a sheave arrangement somewhat similar to Fig. 9 but indicating the wire in a raised position with respect to the driving and tensioning mechanism.

The cooperative action of my sheave mecha- 'nism in maintaining the wire in proper alinement i when a change in the length of wire occurs, may "be better understood from a consideration of the apparatus shown in Fig. 9, in which the sawing equipment has been indicated diagrammatically. In the structure shown, adjustable sawing sheaves 22c and 22d are shown in an intermediate position into which they have been lowered by winches 5i. The dotted line showing indicates the position into which the saw and sheaves will move as sawing progresses. Increase in the lengthof the wire I!) is controlled by sheave 60 and movable sheave 62 around which wire l0 passes." The movable sheave is mounted on::a

travelling car 64' arranged to: move back: and forth on tracks inflat base 66. The travelling member :64 is fastenedto' a cable 68 which is wound around a drum l and has an end attached to a weight 1 2 slidably disposed in a vertical frame 14-. Along the sides of the frame are moimted a number of limit switches 76, T8- and 80-, having operating arms lying in the path of movement of the weight I2.

In operation the sawing sheaves 22c and 22d are lowered as sawing progresses, it being understood that the wire is sawing at full speed. In response to demand of the sawing sheaves, wire is furnished by the travelling car 64 moving along the tracks from the dotted line position shown in Fig. 9 to the full line position noted. In moving into its new position the car raises the weight: 12. The latter member in turn rises until it trips one of the limit switches 16 which is the pay out switch. This switch actuates the electric winch is causing the rope to pay out and lower the weight again. At some point in its downward movement, the weight trips the stop switch which stops further paying out. It may be that the sawyer wishes to raise the sawing. sheaves as he naturally would at the end of the cutting. In

such case the sawyer releases an excess of wire from the sawing tower and this permits the car to move backward and the weight to drop. Here the weight goes down and hits the bottom pull in" switch, causing the winch to pull the rope. Pulling continues until the weight rises to the middle switch which again turns off theelectric winch. It will be observed that with this arrangement there is obtained a great deal of takeup in the travelling car with only a limited travel space utilized for the weight to move. It will also be apparent that a considerable change in the amount of wire required in a system takes place from time to time, not only during set-up operations but also during sawing operations. and that this arrangement provides for it without materially changing the amount of tension in the wire.

Another arrangement for varying the length of wire furnished has been illustrated in Fig. 11. In this structure the power drive 9|] is mounted on a car 92 which is movably supported on inclined tracks 94. The inclined tracks are in turn disposed on another car 96 slidably received on an approximately horizontally arranged track 98. Limit switches are placed at points H10, I02, I04, along the side of the track 94. In the operation of this device, as the saw-yer pulls in or pays out wire at the sawing tower, the upper inclined car rides up or down on its track. The limit switches are contacted by an actuating lever mounted on the car and operate the power. This causes the bottom car on the horizontal track to follow the upper car so that the sawyer has a large range or available wire for his sawing. As was the case before, the orienting sheaves operate to keep the -wire running properly and, thus cooperate with the. above-noted tension mechanism to provide "for a carefully controlled and guided sawing v operation of novel character.

In the used an orienting sheave assembly such as: described, it may be desired to resort to modifications of the structure such as for example those shown in Figs. 8, 14 and. 15. Thus I may desire to construct a hinged sheave of the character noted in Fig. 8 in which the member 54-is of increased height so as to support the sheave 32a in a raised position which may be. desirable .under some operating: conditions- Similarly I may provide for a double hinge arrangement as suggested in Fig. 14 in which sheave H0 is mounted on a bracket I I3 pivotally mounted on anti};- right HI'. Directly below is a second bracket ll-I independently pivoted on upright Hi]. Intermediate sheaves H4 are utilized with each of these units and there is thus afiorded a: wider range ofv operation. Still another arrangement may consist of two hinged sheaves I20 and I22 mounted about a common upright I24 and having a common intermediate sheave I26 as shown in Fig. 15'. It will also be noted that the arrangement shown in Fig. 8 is illustrative of an assembly' of sheaves such that the lead-in and leadout sheaves are not disposed at different levels but lie in approximately the same horizontal position. In. this arrangement sheave I22 may be located abovesheave. I26. Various other supporting structures may be employed to combine these sheaves in the desired relative position which is an essential part of the invention.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described. detail illustrative embodiments thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A wire sawing apparatus for use in quarrying, comprising a wire member, means for urging the wire into sliding contact with the surface to be sawn, means for furnishing wire to the sawing means, a guide assembly for the wire located between the sawing means and the wire furnishing means for directing the path of movement of the wire in varying directions, said guide assembly including a supporting structure, a

' lead-in sheave, a lead-out sheave, and an intermediate sheave, said Supporting structure including a vertical frame and longitudinally extending guide rails carried thereby, a vertical post member terminating at its upper end portion in a vertical bearing for supporting in a horizontal plane one of said sheaves, the lower portion of said upright post member being mounted on one of said horizontal rails for sliding adjustment therealong, means for securing said post in its adjusted position on said rail, a bracket member including an arm having one end portion provided with a collar rotatable about said post. a rotatable sheave mounting for a lead-out sheave on the outer end of said bracket arm, means for securing said sheave mounting in adjusted position, a sheave bearing at the upper end of said mounting with its axis in a horizontal plane, an angular brace member connecting the outer end of said bracket arm with the upper portion of said post, a third sheave support carried by said supporting frame, said third sheave support including a horizontal supporting bearing for supporting a sheave in a vertical plane, said support being adjustable for rotating the sheave bearing in. its own horizontal plane, and said last-named support being adjustable longitudinally of said supporting rails.

'- 2. A wire sawing apparatus for use in quarrying, comprising a wire member, means for urging the wire into sliding contact with the surface to be. sawn, means for furnishing wire to the sawing means, a guide assembly for the wire located between the sawing means and the wire furnishing means for directing the path of movement of the wire in varying directions, said guide as- 1 sembly including a supporting structure, a lead-in gitudinally extending guide rails carried thereby, a sheave mounting for the lead-in sheave, said sheave mounting including arms adjustably secured on certain of said rails, said mounting permitting rotational movement of said sheave about its axis and longitudinal movement along its supporting rails, a vertical sheave support for the intermediate sheave, said vertical sheave support including a post mounted at its lower end portion on another of said rails, a collar about the upper end of said post, means for securing said collar to another of said rails and a vertical bearing at the upper end of the post for supporting the intermediate sheave in horizontal position, a swinging bracket mounted on said post for rotational movement about the axis of said post, said swinging bracket including an arm extending laterally of said rails, and a vertical sheave supporting frame at the end portion of said bracket for the lead-out sheave, said sheave supporting frame including upright members and a rotary supporting plate for said upright members, means for securing said plate in adjusted position, and horizontal sheave bearings at the upper ends of said sheave supporting frame for supporting said lead-out sheave, said sheaves being of such dimension that the grooves in their peripheries are constantly in alignment to guide the wire in centered relation.

3. A wire sawing apparatus for use in quarrying, comprising a wire member, means for urging the wire into sliding contact with the surface to be sawn, means for furnishing wire to the saw ing means, a guide assembly for the wire located between the sawing means and the wire furnishing means for directing the path of movement of the wire in varying directions, said guide assembly including a supporting structure, a lead-in sheave, a lead-out sheave, and an intermediate sheave, said supporting structure including a vertical frame, and longitudinally extending guide rails carried thereby, a sheave mounting longitudinally adjustable on certain of said guide rails, means for angularly adjusting said mounting in a horizontal plane, and a lead-in sheave supported thereby, a vertical sheave support positioned laterally of the main frame and movable on other of said guide rails laterally with respect to the first sheave mounting and in a plane parallel to the plane of movement of the first sheave support, an intermediate sheave carried at the upper end portion of said sheave support, and a sheave supporting structure for the lead-out sheave, said sheave supporting structure for the lead-out sheave including a swinging bracket and a rotatably adjustable upright support, said bracket being pivotally supported on said frame for swinging movement about the axis of the intermediate sheave, and a bearing at the upper end portion of the upright frame for supporting the le ad-out sheave.

HARRY E. S'I'RATTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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